


Resurrection - Thranduil

by lucretiaaston



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Angry Elrond, Angst, Angst and Tragedy, Asshole Thranduil, BAMF Thranduil, Bard the Bowman is So Done, Caring Thranduil, Dom Thranduil (Tolkien), Elven Wine, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Jealous Thranduil, Kissing, Manipulative Thranduil, Minor Violence, Mirkwood, Modern Girl in Middle Earth, Protective Elrond, Protective Legolas Greenleaf, Protective Thranduil, Slow Burn, Thranduil Not Being An Asshole
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:07:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29298639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucretiaaston/pseuds/lucretiaaston
Summary: Ellie Danvers was living a completely ordinary, painfully mundane life until one day, she appears to be transported into an entirely different world than the one she was used to.With a whole host of people claiming to know her though under a different name and identity, will Ellie be able to come to terms with her true identity?(Modern girl in Middle Earth)
Relationships: Legolas Greenleaf/Tauriel, Thranduil & Thranduil's Wife, Thranduil (Tolkien)/Original Female Character(s), Thranduil/Thranduil's Wife
Comments: 15
Kudos: 112





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our protagonist finds herself in new surroundings, accompanied by a strange old man...

"What do you think?"

"It's definitely one of your best pieces."

"Really?"

"Oh definitely...definitely."

Ellie was stood with her best friend, Jenna, staring at a painted canvas which rested on an easel before them. It depicted a tall man, with long white blonde hair wearing some kind of large crown made out of intertwined twigs and berries. His face was obscured by a large plant, though one pointed inhuman ear was visible through the gaps. Despite her loyal best friend's reassurance, Ellie was remained unconvinced as she gnawed at her lip restlessly, as Jenna leaned slightly closer to her artwork.

"Who is it?"

"I don't know." Ellie replied honestly, shrugging her shoulders lamely as she turned away to began cleaning her brushes. The tall, blonde haired man had been haunting her dreams for weeks now but she couldn't for the life of her figure out who he was. She couldn't remember meeting, or even setting eyes upon, anybody who even remotely looked like the man her mind seemed to be fixated upon.

Usually, she ignored her strange dreams and had forgotten them by lunch time but today she just couldn't shake them and had taken it as a sign that she should use them as a nifty way out of her artist's block.

After saying a prompt goodbye to Jenna, Ellie turned back to the canvas. She wasn't entirely pleased with it, but knew she had no time to paint something else in time for the graded assignment deadline which was in just over 1 hours time. There was nothing else to be done: She'd have to work with what she already had.

For a start, after staring at the berries on the mystery man's crown, Ellie remembered the orange stick-on rhinestones that she'd bought on a whim at a craft market a month ago. They would do nicely to add texture to the piece, and to also make his crown shine more than she could make it with paint. With a happy smile, she crossed the cramped space in her small student apartment to the cupboard where she kept all of her crafty supplies and began to root fervently until finally, she found the strip of sticky gems.

Smirking with satisfaction, the art student then moved backwards and was about to rush to her unfinished exam project when something else fell out of the cupboard beside her and landed on the floor with a small thump. Looking down, she saw a small brown package, tied with string, nestled on her carpet like it had been there forever.

"What are you?" She asked the package rhetorically, as she crouched down to unwrap the strange item. To her surprise - it was a ring!

A large, glistening opal-looking stone stared up at her, encased in the most delicate and luxurious looking silver which twisted and twisted endlessly to form its unique shape. Against her will, Ellie's breath caught in her throat.

She definitely hadn't bought this - it was so beautiful that she definitely would've remembered.

Perhaps it had come free with some art supplies and she hadn't noticed?

Frowning, she turned the ring over in her palm to properly inspect the intricate work that had gone into making such a jaw-dropping piece of jewelry.

No. This definitely couldn't have been a free gift, it was just too well made and expensive looking.

Like a kid in a candy store, with a grin to make the Cheshire cat envious, Ellie slipped the ring onto one of her fingers before promptly rising to her feet.

Which proved to be a fatal error.

Almost instantaneously, she found her vision beginning to blur and disappear before eventually, the world around her faded to black and the young woman found herself falling to the ground.

**********************************************************************************************  
Ellie's eyes snapped open, bright light flooding in and practically blinding her for a couple of seconds. Giving herself practically no time to adjust, she threw herself into a sitting position which she then immediately regretted as nausea clamored at her throat.  
Gazing around in a daze, she noted that she was in some kind of bright clearing with luscious grass carpeting the ground in a never-ending sea of green.

It was as she nervously examined her new environment, that Ellie came to the startling conclusion that she wasn't alone. Observing her with a high degree of curiosity, whilst clutching the reins of a restless seeming large black horse, was a peculiar looking old man.

"I expected to find you here...however," the man paused, fumbling around in his scraggy grey robes to produce a tobacco pipe, which he then began to smoke, "I did not expect to find _you_ here."

His riddleish words only contributed to her confusion, as shakily, Ellie rose to her feet.

"Where am I?" She asked nervously, taking a preliminary step back from the man.

"Middle Earth."

"The middle of the Earth?"

"No, I said Middle Earth. More specifically, you are not all too far from Erebor and the ruins of Dale which is where I suppose we should deliver ourselves rather quickly!" The old man announced, before blowing out a delicate ring of smoke which rose through the air perfectly. If Ellie wasn't so confused, she would have complimented the man on his excellent smoking.

"Erebor? I am really sorry, but I seem to be very confused. I am living in London at the moment...for art school, though I actually hail from up north in Manchester."

"Well, Authiel, previously of the woodland realm and now of the northern land of Manchester and London; I am afraid we no longer have time for pleasantries and we must go."

Ellie took another weary step backwards. For a start, her name was not 'Authiel'. Secondly, she did not want to go anywhere with this strange and quite frankly grotty looking old man.

"No, No, It is alright I will find my own way back. Thank you for your offer...." Ellie paused, realising that the man had not shared his name with her.

"Gandalf, Gandalf the Grey and I apologise profusely Authiel but you really must be coming with me it is a prophecy you see, from the Lady Galadriel herself and it must be seen through to the end!"

"Who is Galadriel? And my name is not Authiel, it is Ellie!"

"We really do not have time for questions, though I am sure you have many and I can assure you that they will be answered in time but for now, we must get moving!"

Seeing no other option but to go with the man, Ellie reluctantly agreed. For a short amount of time, Ellie rode behind the man on his large black steed as he spoke kindly to her and was nice enough to point out species of flowers and plants that piqued her interest and he seemed to be inundated with all kinds of impressive stories of times long past. Ellie was just about to try and interrogate the old man again, when they appeared to reach some kind of small settlement.

"This is not our destination, Auth...Ellie," the old man corrected himself as he halted the horse and gestured for her to dismount, "We simply have to get you a steed of your own, and some better clothes."

Mystified, Ellie glanced down at her attire. Sure enough, Gandalf was correct. Her clothes were ripped, muddy and torn in addition to her black leggings suddenly seeming too short...as if she had grown a few inches!

"Strange..." she muttered under her breath, but she had no time to ponder on the subject as Gandalf had already began to stride off in the direction of the building farthest away from them, which steadily had smoke pouring out of its chimney.

When she finally caught up to Gandalf, he was already inside the building and conversing heartily with a portly woman who was laughing jubilantly with him.

"Ah! 'Ere she is then I suppose! What an honor, what an honor!" The woman shrieked happily, making her way around the side of a large wooden counter to properly greet Ellie.

"Uh, nice to meet you! I'm -" 

"We all know who you are! I won't ask how you are here, I will just do my job quickly!" The woman laughed again, clasping one of Ellie's hands excitedly.

"Harold is out back repairing some things for you, all Elven I can assure you!" She added, before disappearing through another door, leaving Ellie and Gandalf alone.

"I'm going to need you to be honest with me now. I need you to tell me what the hell is going on!" Ellie whisper-shouted at the man beside her, who offered her a knowing grin. 

Gandalf scrutinised the filthy, mud-covered Elleth who stared defiantly up at him with her arms crossed. She might not have any recollection of her true identity, but the fiercely spirited elf was most definitely the same person that he remembered.

"I do not know where you have come from, or indeed, how you have come back from such a place but it seems to have interfered with your memories. It is not my place to inform you of your true identity for that is a journey you must embark on yourself however," The wizard paused, seeming to search for the correct words to say, "I will say that your arrival has been predicted in a prophecy and that your aid is required in a most delicate situation, which if handled incorrectly, could result in the death of thousands."

Ellie's eyebrows shot up of their own accord.

_Did he just say the death of thousands?_

Just as she was about to press her companion further, the excitable woman re-entered the room balancing two large basins of water in each hand, which each had a flannel hanging over the side.

"Here, this ones for your skin," she started, placing one of the basins on a table before her, "and I will use this one to sort your hair out."

Quickly, Gandalf was dismissed from the room and the two women were left alone.

Taking this as another opportunity to seek out information, Ellie instantly launched into a polite interrogation of the woman who was currently picking leaves and twigs out of her long white-blonde hair...which suddenly seemed longer than it had been previously.

"Do you know who I am?"

The woman behind her chuckled softly, as she used a warm damp cloth to remove mud from the back of her neck.

"Gandalf warned me about this. Yes, I know who you are my dear, but that is certainly not my story to tell." She explained, as Ellie picked up the flannel from the basin in front of her and deftly used it to clean any mud she could see from her arms and legs before running it quickly over her face.

"Don't forget your ears." The kind woman added as she finished with Ellie's hair and began to comb it through. To please the woman, Ellie dunked the cloth again and brought it to her left ear....which was definitely the wrong shape.

It was pointed!

Jerking her hand away in surprise, she heard the woman behind her breathe in sharply.

"This is as much as I can tell you, you are an Elf and an important one too but I will not tell you anymore."

There was a soft knock at the door, and the woman answered it before reappearing promptly with what seemed to be a bundle of armour and clothing. Ellie dressed firstly in an underlayer of thick black material before she was presented with incredibly shiny looking silver armour; which the woman hastily strapped to her so tightly but comfortably, that it felt like a second skin. An intricately carved black and silver bow with a matching black leather quiver of black and silver arrows, was slung onto her back and an equally as intricate black scabbard was buckled around her waist with a beautiful silver sword firmly implanted inside.

"What is going on?" Ellie asked anxiously, as Gandalf re-entered the room. Why would she need weapons and armour, she couldn't fight and she didn't want to! And swords? Did these people not have guns?

"Hang on a little longer, Ellie Authiel, until we reach our destination. Everything will be revealed soon." Gandalf instructed wisely as he studied the Elleth and noted her mounting anxiety.

"I don't want to fight, I cannot I -"

"This is just for your protection, for a worst-case scenario." He reassured, just as another man popped his head around the door, who Ellie correctly assumed to be the elusive Malcolm.

"Horse is ready, Gandalf."

All too soon, the pair were on their way again. Ellie's horse was the same height as Gandalf's and similar in colour, though it was much slimmer and less of a stocky breed. It seemed to have a nice enough temperament and was named Tallagor, whom she'd nicknamed Tally.

"Where are we going _now_?"

Ellie wasn't entirely sure why she even bothered to ask, it wasn't like she would know the location of anywhere that Gandalf the Grey said.

"We are going to a place called Laketown...if it still stands. If not, we ride straight to the lost city of Dale."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they meet again

Laketown was an eerie cloud of steam. 

The scent of putrid, choking smoke flooded the air and made it barely breathable.

"As I suspected, we must ride straight to Dale."

Ellie couldn't peel her bright blue eyes away from the skeleton of the floating city, its lifeless corpse staring at her from the water where it had met its demise. What could have caused such a devastating fire that it would rip through an entire city...an entire city which sat on water at that!

"What happened?"

"An ancient Dragon, a truly nasty business."

At the word Dragon, Ellie's head snapped to the side to stare at the old man so fast that she thought she may have given herself whiplash. DRAGON?

Surely not...

As was a recurring theme in her correspondence with the man, whom she had learnt was none other than a wizard...at least that was what he claimed, Gandalf continued to make unsubstantiated and wild claims.

"Dragon?"

"Gluttonous creatures with a fine craving for gold and all things precious. Like I said, a truly nasty business...Dale is not much farther."

Upon arrival at the place, it soon became evident that these people were in need of serious help. Children, covered in ash and soot ran around crying as they desperately searched for food of which there was none. Gravely wounded people with severe, stomach-churning grotesque burns howled and wailed as they clamored for medical supplies and aid, of which was in short supply. Ellie surveyed the morbid scene in a stunned sense of shock, her blue eyes not missing one inch of the scene as the locals bustled around in a vein attempt to locate something, anything, that could be used to their advantage. 

Gandalf rode on ahead, speaking in hushed and serious tones with a ruggedly handsome man who seemed to be the leader of the group of displaced peoples. In panic, Ellie watched on as Gandalf gestured to her multiple times as the man, who seemed to be named Bard, scanned her with his scrutinising gaze before giving a sharp nod.

"I have a favour to ask of you." Gandalf began, as he rode back to where Ellie was waiting. This actually had not been his plan at all, but having Ellie as an extra pair of hands would certainly help the struggling people of Laketown. Plus, it would get her out of the way whilst he discussed the delicate matter at length with Bard properly and indeed, King Thranduil when he arrived; he had it on good authority from the birds that he would be coming, though chose not to impart this information to Bard as if the Elvenking didn't turn up, he didn't want to have given the poor people of this place false hope.

"I will help these people in any way you need me to." Ellie found herself replying. Despite this entire situation feeling like a fever dream out of her control, she knew full well that these people were going to die if they didn't get the help they need and at this point in time, this situation felt a lot more important than her confusion. 

So, anything that was needed of her she would certainly comply with.

Satisfied, Gandalf hastily passed her a folded piece of parchment. When unfurled, it held three hasty sketches of three different plants.

"These three plants are both edible and medicinal, which would be a great help to these peoples. I need you to swiftly ride back in the direction that we came from, in order to locate as much of these plants as you can." He instructed, as he also passed her a faded leather satchel to use to collect the foliage.

Quickly, turning the horse around, Ellie found herself speeding off into the distance in the strange unfamiliar lands.

"Gandalf?" Bard asked again, approaching the wizard who turned to him.

"What do you mean that this elf is special?"

"I believe, that she should be long dead."

"Well clearly, she ain't cos she was just 'ere" A lecherous, dirty man who had introduced himself as Alfrid replied as he rolled his eyes, approaching the duo.

"Evidently." Came Gandalf's short response. He needed to get a message to Rivendell, though wasn't sure whether to go himself or to send somebody else, after all, he knew that he had to be here when the Elves arrived.

In a dense woods a few feet away from the entrance to Dale, Ellie had dismounted her obedient horse and was hurriedly scrambling to search every bush she saw for the correct plants. The first of the three that she encountered was a bush which had large red berries on it and so she grabbed as many of the fruits as she could and stuffed them into the satchel. 

Darting around moving as quickly as possible, aware that Tally was watching her every move, Ellie soon found the final two plants. Dismayed at the minimal amount that she could fit into her satchel, and growing increasingly annoyed with the weaponry which she was carrying (in particular the cumbersome bow and arrows) Ellie mounted her horse once again and began to ride back.

She was scarcely 5 minutes into her journey, when she noticed something was wrong. Legions of men and women, dressed in gold, seemed to be stationed in and all around Dale as even more arrived.

An army.

A sinking feeling consuming her entirely, Ellie urged Tally to speed up. She prayed that these people were not the danger that Gandalf had warned her about, she honestly wouldn't know what she would do if they were. Managing to evade the majority of he golden people, Ellie rode into Dale and was disheartened to find that the old wizard wasn't where she had left him. She had only been gone for an hour at the most...where could he have got to?

Dismounting, Ellie strode off towards where the wounded were being kept only to learn that the situation was no longer as dire as when she'd departed. Apparently, the golden people were a section of the Elvenking's army and with them, they'd brought aid.

"Rest assured, the plants you've gathered are still desperately needed!" A woman who was tending to the children and the wounded reassured her, with a gracious smile. 

"In fact," another woman began with a slight frown, "We could do with some more of this." She said as she held up one of the more medicinal plants that Ellie had obtained.

"I can go and get you some more!" Ellie responded instantly, picking up her now empty satchel.

The women thanked her profusely, but just as she was about to hurry back to the woods, she was approached by a man from earlier.

"Ellie?" Bard asked her, and she returned his greeting with a breathless smile. With a laugh internally, she mused how she must look. She was sweating from the armour and from the weight of the weapons strapped to her body. The horse riding was burning her thigh muscles and she was incredibly thirsty.

"Hello there, Bard is it?"

"Yes, would you come with me please?" His expression was uncomfortable, as if he had been sent to do a task which made him incredibly uneasy...which of course, he had.

****HALF AN HOUR PRIOR****

"I see you know nothing of wizards." Thranduil spoke uneasily as he poured himself another glass of potent elven wine. He could not quite believe his ears when Mithrandir had spoken, and refused to believe the lies that he sprouted.

Though, the wizard had always seemed to be fair to him and there was no reason for him to lie about something so serious. Plus, there was absolutely no reason for him, no possible motivation that Thranduil could think of, for Mithrandir to lie about his wife.

"I speak of the truth, Thranduil, I do not lie. The Lady Galadriel predicted the return of a powerful and beloved individual in the woods of the deceived. When I went, there she was."

Seeing the King was unconvinced, Gandalf then turned to Bard who was lingering uneasily by the entrance to Thranduil's tent, unsure of whether to join in the discussion or not.

So far, he had chosen the latter.

"Did you not see her, Bard?" The wizard asked fervently, waiting eagerly for his response.

"I do not," Bard paused, clearing his throat, "I do not know what the Queen looked like, however, I can certainly say that you were travelling with a Sindar Elleth."

After another rapid succession of arguments, finally, Gandalf turned to Bard.

"She should be back now, go and fetch her!"

****PRESENT****

"This is ridiculous! I really need to get more plants for the women looking after the wounded!"

"I know, and on behalf of the people here I thank you whole heartedly for your help, but the King wishes to see you."

At the word King, Ellie froze in her tracks. A king? Wanted to see her?

But why? What possible reason could a King have for wanting to see her? Plus, she hadn't even had time to freshen up her appearance, she probably looked like she had been dragged through a hedge! Which, thanks to Tally's rapid pace was almost true.

"Why would a King want to see me?"

"It is not my place to say."

"It seems like it's nobodies place to say anything here." Ellie grumbled with irritation, as she began to walk again. Their destination seemed to be a large tent, which was confirmed when Gandalf's bearded head suddenly appeared, looking out to see her.

"She is here now." Ellie heard him announce distantly, as Bard entered the tent before her. Nervously, and unsure if there was any kind of Royal protocol she had to follow, Ellie lingered outside the tent. A couple of minutes later, Bard stuck his head out.

"What are you doing?" He asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Am I allowed to come in, or do I have to be asked?" She whispered, eyes wide.

"No, come in."

Nervously, Bard held the flap of the tent open so that she could duck under his arm and enter.

Instantly, her eyes were drawn to the King.

He was absolutely stunning, ethereal even, with long pin-straight blonde hair and the most ornate and stunning clothing. The circlet crown on his head was made out of delicately interwoven metal with a precious stone at its centre on his forehead which contrasted with his beautiful blue eyes.

Though, despite his unbelievable appearance, the most jarring element of all was the expression of mixed horror, recognition and love which had flooded his beautiful features.

"Authiel." He whispered under his breath, as he dropped the glass of red wine he had been holding, leaning forwards in his seat with his icy eyes as wide as they could possibly be.

When nobody spoke, Ellie cleared her throat nervously as she eyed the red wine which had made a small tsunami on the beautiful carpet beneath their feet.

"Um, that's going to stain your...er....Your Majesty." Ellie began, unsure of why she had even spoken as she shuffled awkwardly on her feet. The three men simply stared at her, as she shifted uneasily. Why they were scrutinising her so, she had no idea.

Looking as if he had seen a ghost, the King rose to his feet and began to move towards her. His usually calculated and graceful gait was staggered as he moved ever closer to Ellie, who was now trembling slightly.

"My name is Ellie." She tried her best to introduce herself brightly, but her voice came out as a weak whisper as the King finally came to a halt so close to her, that their chests were almost touching.

Slowly, painstakingly slowly, Thranduil reached out and gently grasped a strand of Ellie's white blonde hair which had strayed out from being tucked behind her ear. He marveled at the feeling of the silky strand wrapped around his pale finger, unable to believe that it was real.

"How have you returned?" His voice was barely above a whisper as he turned his concentration back to his wife's cerulean orbs which were regarding him in disturbed confusion.

"As I stated earlier, she has no recollection of -" Gandalf began, but was swiftly silenced by the King raising a finger to shush him. Grumbling in dissatisfaction, the Wizard looked away.

He could not believe what he was seeing, that the love of his life and the source of his anguish was stood before him as if nothing had happened to her. Thranduil found himself examining every pore on her beautiful face, subconsciously willing himself to find some kind of fault to prove that this ethereal elleth was not his Authiel.

He could find none. 

"Someone, send for my son."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the pair meet again and an agreement is made.

(A/N - For the purpose of this story, the elves stay in Dale for a few days before there is a battle.)

Ellie let out a stark laugh, shocking the men around the table. The goblet of wine which had sat untouched before her, she now grabbed to take a generous gulp as she tried to stop herself from wincing at its potency.

"I am afraid, that you have got the wrong woman."

Had they seriously just tried to tell her that she was the Elvenking's dead wife? Absolutely not, clearly they were mistaken. It was true that Ellie didn't know how she had ended up in Middle Earth, but she definitely knew that she had always been 100% alive.

"I am afraid, it is you that is mistaken." Gandalf stated, half repeating her words as he took a large drag on his tobacco pipe.

"But how -" Ellie cut herself off as she roughly slammed her elbows onto the table, rubbing her tired eyes in frustration. Sighing heavily after removing her hands from her eyes, Ellie found her gaze flickering to the side to observe the monarch who sat on her right. He was completely turned towards her in his seat, his steely gaze not moving from her form for more than a split-second. Usually, he was collected and eloquent but he couldn't articulate himself at all.

This was his _wife_.

His _lover_.

His _soulmate_.

He wanted to pull her into his lap and kiss the breath out of her lungs, he wanted to toss her into his bed and never let her leave, he wanted to take her riding on his great Elk and yet....

She had no idea who he was.

It killed him, no, it _eviscerated_ him.

"I am not married. I know that I am not married." Ellie began, turning to look before the grief-stricken King. "I am sure you are an amazing guy, but that doesn't change the fact that I am not married and I am also not from this place. I need to go home."

The silence was palpable, a passerby would be able to hear a pin-drop it was so deafening.

Lethargically, with his eyes sparkling with unshed tears that nobody mentioned, Thranduil turned to Mithrandir.

"Is there a way to restore her memory?" Ellie noticed that his voice had changed slightly. It was still sombre, but it seemed more measured and cold than before. The raw emotion was gone, replaced with ice and sadness.

"I need to consult with Elrond and the council..." The wizard grumbled off, as Ellie rose to her feet with a certain gusto that startled them all.

"Let me make this perfectly clear: I. Am. Not. The. Woman. You. Seek." She seethed, angrily slamming her hands down onto the wooden table so hard that the goblets teetered and threatened to fall and spill. "Now. If you will be so kind as to excuse me, I need to go and gather supplies for these people."

Shoving her chair backwards roughly with her foot, Ellie stormed to the exit just as it flew open and in walked another pale blonde haired elf. He was shorter than the King, and seemed to act as if he were younger. Ellie knocked into him, before apologising tersely.

"I do not believe we are acquainted, though you seem familiar." He greeted formally, blinking as if he expected her to to address him in return.

"Legolas," the King's voice came faintly from behind her as he addressed the Elf before her, "This...this is your mother."

Ellie reeled with anger, whipping around to face the King in a way faster than she had ever moved in her entire existence. How dare he undermine everything she had just said to blatantly lie to his poor son.

"No I am damn well NOT." She hissed furiously, jabbing her finger at the King as her nostrils flared angrily. Her ferocity startled him, despite it being reminiscent of her true self.

Pushing past a rather surprised looking Legolas, Ellie stomped away furiously.

***

Ellie was perched haphazardly on a rock in the rain, when Legolas came to find her. He sat next to her, silently, listening to her intently as she tried to swallow her soft cries. Her warm tears intermingled with the frosty rain which rolled down her face, so it hadn't immediately been apparent that she was crying.

"Why do you cry?" Legolas asked softly, staring straight ahead, observing the treeline a few feet before them.

"I want to go home." She replied, equally as softly as she took a deep breath.

Legolas seemed as if he wanted to speak again, but Ellie spoke first.

"Did your father send you?" Her question came out a little more venomously than she had intended it to, but Legolas didn't seem to mind.

"No, actually. In fact, he told me to stay away from you."

Surprised, Ellie turned to face the Elf beside her.

"Why would he do that?"

"He said to avoid you getting more...riled."

Scoffing, Ellie brushed her hair back behind her newly pointed ears again. She had to admit to herself that she did feel incredibly guilty for the way she'd behaved before. Lashing out because she felt that she wasn't being listened to, Ellie feared that she may have pissed off the King. She wasn't entirely sure why this bothered her, but regardless, having a King angry at you can't be a good thing.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted...I-" 

"Don't be." Legolas' curt, honest response surprised her. Had her outburst not bothered him? 

"From what I have heard, you have come from another...world. You cannot be blamed for being angry at people trying to tell you that you are somebody else, Ellie." He explained, shifting to the side slightly to stare at her intently.

"You are the only person to call me by my actual name."

The pair sat in silence for quite a while, before Legolas suggested that they go inside one of the ruined buildings which still partially had a roof to shield themselves from the downpour which was growing with intensity.

Sitting side by side, Legolas spoke again.

"He doesn't mean to be...overbearing, it is just the way that he is. You must understand...it was quite a shock for him to see you, when you look so much like her."

"But I am not her." Ellie whispered honestly, eliciting a sigh from her companion. His eyes searched the room as he tried to figure out how to articulate himself properly.

"What if you are, you just haven't realised?"

Furrowing her eyebrows, Ellie turned to Legolas again. That wasn't possible, she had absolutely no recollection of any memories which would lead her to the conclusion that she was this person...there was nothing!

"What do you mean?"

"What if when you...died, in Middle Earth, you were actually taken to your world and you lost your memories? Lord Elrond may be able to..."

"I am not having someone implant fake memories into my head." Ellie stated coolly, narrowing her eyes maliciously. Surely he wouldn't go as far as to suggest that she forced herself into the role of this woman, who was clearly dead.

"No. Elrond is powerful, but he certainly is not that powerful. He is a healer, who would be able to heal your memories...potentially."

Silence consumed the duo again, and Ellie found herself closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the stone wall behind her as she listened to the repeated sounds of the rain hitting the roof. Neither of them knew how long they'd been sitting there, before Legolas got to his feet. Subconciously, he brushed the dust and rubble from his legs as he turned to Ellie.

"It has darkened outside and the rain is stopping, we will need to find lodging." 

Reluctantly, Ellie agreed and began to traipse after the taller Elf who attempted to engage her in small talk as they moved back to the center of Dale. Speaking quickly, as if the speed would dissuade her from disagreeing, Legolas began to speak.

"My father will have sorted accommodation for yo -"

"That is unnecessary, but thank you."

She would rather sleep with the animals than in the vicinity of King Thranduil.

***

She hadn't exactly slept with the animals directly, but Ellie found herself lodging in an old, slightly crumbling and disused stone barn on a bed of uncomfortable old straw. It was quite cold at times, but it still had half of its roof so she had shelter and from her position on her makeshift bed she could see the night sky through the broken sections of it and stargaze until she fell asleep.

The down side to this, apart from the aching back she had in the morning, was that the sunlight directly streamed into the barn which woke her up remarkably early at first light. After using a slightly murky puddle of water to make herself look more presentable by plucking straw from her hair and wiping mud from her face, Ellie ventured out of her dwelling. 

With every step she took, a different part of her body seemed to protest. After all, she was so paranoid about dragons and elves and all kinds of strange creatures, she had slept fully in her armour. Stretching and groaning quietly, it was with great displeasure that she realised her little barn was in full view of the King's tent.

And she would have to walk past it to go in the search of more berries to eat.

Darting uncomfortably across the entrance, Ellie was just about to applaud herself for successfully sneaking past, when a familiar voice piped up.

"Ellie!" It was Legolas, stood in the entrance of the tent with a cheerful smile on his face.

"Good morning!" She smiled politely at Legolas, though it came out like more of a pained grimace.

"Come and dine with us."

_Us._

The King was definitely in there, there was no doubt about that. She couldn't face him, the mere thought made her stomach churn unpleasantly. Immediately noticing her discomfort, Legolas fully exited the tent to come towards her.

"Just speak with him, he isn't going to kill you."

Uncomfortably, Ellie had made peace with the idea of saying a quick hello and disappearing, before she had set eyes on the immense spread of food laid out in the King's tent. There was everything she could've dreamed of - berries, sugary pastries, toasts and jams and breakfast meats...she wanted to eat _everything._

Watching her ravenous expression with mild amusement, Thranduil greeted her with his signature emotionless ice.

"Ah, Ellie. Will you be eating with us?" The way he grimaced and almost flinched as he said her name - the name her clearly thought was incorrect, was not lost on the elleth. However, despite this, the King seemed to genuinely want her to eat with him and so she took her first step over the threshold.

"I will be back later."

"What?" Ellie turned to face Legolas with a bewildered expression, as he prompted her to walk further into the King's tent.

"I have eaten, I am leaving."

And she was left alone with the King.

Awkwardly shuffling forwards, her feet barely leaving the ground, Ellie made her way to the table and took the seat opposite him after grabbing a pastry. Her appetite had rapidly diminished upon realising she would be left on her own with Thranduil, whose frozen eyes had not left her face for one second.

"Legolas mentioned he had spoken to you." He said softly, as Ellie took a bite of the delicious food whilst averting her gaze.

"Ah."

"Please allow us to bring you to Rivendell to see Lord Elrond." He got straight to the point, watching as she licked the sugar from her lips which had come from the pastry she was munching.

Ellie wasn't sure. On the up side, it would be interesting to meet more people and to see more of this strange world. On the down side, she really didn't want somebody to mess with her head and put things in there that weren't even hers, just to force her into being what they wanted her to be.

"Legolas expressed to me that you are concerned about false memories being put into your head."

Ellie's eyes snapped up, to stare right at the King. 

_Could this guy read minds or something?_

"Now, Elrond is powerful but I am sure he cannot fabricate years upon years of memories. I will have to speak with him, but I think we would only be able to rescue and revive memories."

She knew there was no way out of this. Pretty soon, Ellie was sure the King's polite coolness would turn to impatience and she would end up in this Rivendell place regardless of whether she went of her own free will or not. 

Surely, it was better to go on good terms.

"Alright...I guess. I will go, but I am not agreeing to anything. I will see what this Elrond guy has to say but I am not promising that I will go through with anything."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is another awkward meeting

Ellie had managed to avoid the armies and angry debates occurring for the majority of her time in Dale. From what she could understand vaguely, there were some rather unreasonable dwarves in the mountain who were refusing to give people the gold and jewels that they'd previously promised them.

Thranduil and Bard had been negotiating with them, to no avail. The dwarves had thoroughly blocked themselves into the mountain where the dragon, Smaug, had been living and nobody could seem to get in.

There would have to be a battle.

She was going over the events of the day, lying on her makeshift straw pile, when the rain first started. It was bitterly cold tonight, and despite her armour, Ellie was shivering like a leaf and her teeth were chattering lamely. The torrential downpour was starting to flood the barn slightly and was reaching her pile of straw to turn it into a pile of mush.

Across from Ellie's barn, on the other side of Dale, Thranduil was struggling to sleep. He was always restless the night before a battle would arrive and he was even more concerned now because of Ellie.

He had lost her in a battle once, he refused to loose her again.

He rolled over underneath his thick furs and covers, trying to get comfortable again and allowing the sound of the rain hitting the roof of his ornate, luxurious tent to relax him when suddenly, his eyes snapped open in shock.

_Ellie!_

Legolas has said she'd been sleeping in a barn with a broken roof to avoid being near any of them. She would be absolutely freezing in this weather!

Practically vaulting himself from his bed, Thranduil marched past the blazing chimney in the centre of his vast tent towards the door pausing only once to wrap one of his large cloaks around himself. Very quickly, he strode with purpose across to the barn and once he arrived, his suspicions were confirmed.

Shivering so harshly that at first he thought she was convulsing, Ellie was lying in a sodden heap on the ground with her eyes screwed shut. Her lips and skin were both tinged blue and her breath was coming out in shallow, struggling pants.

 _"Meleth nin!"_ He whispered in surprise, darting forwards to her side. Disregarding her whimpered protests, Thranduil scooped her up despite her armour and rushed back to the warmth and luxury of his tent.

Inside, he sat her down on a large quilted cushion by the fire and slowly began to unbuckle her cumbersome armour which at this point was so unbelievably cold, that small patches of ice had begun to crystallize on its shiny silver surface. Piece by piece, he peeled the metal away from the thick black under layer she was wearing as Ellie shivered harshly at the fireside. She wasn't entirely sure why she hadn't jumped up and punched him before running away; but she was just too frozen cold and Ellie knew that because she resembled his dead wife, the King probably wouldn't hurt her.

Probably.

He tended to her deftly and silently, before quickly crossing to his trunk of clothing to find the smallest garment that he could dress her in. Eventually, he found a soft grey undershirt folded up practically into nothing tucked right at the bottom under some boots. 

"Undress and put this on."

"N...No" Ellie stammered as her teeth chattered, the fire not really working to warm her as she sat in the soggy clothes. Thranduil crossed the room in irritation, dropping the shirt to the floor beside her and pointing to it sternly. 

"Change, or I will change you myself."

Respectfully turning his back, Thranduil was satisfied when he heard her shuffling around and undressing.

Ellie busied herself folding her wet clothes into a neat pile, whilst trying to pretend that she felt no better for being in the comfort of the Elvenking's tent. The truth was, that even the carpet and the cushion beneath her was an entire world away from the sludge she was lying in in the barn. 

"What made you come looking for me?" Ellie found herself asking, as she finished changing. The shirt came to her mid thigh and was surprisingly warming for something that had felt so thin and flimsy. 

"I remembered where Legolas said you were sleeping just as I was about to sleep and I heard the storm."

"Oh...well...thanks, I guess."

"Are you warm enough?"

"Yeah, my toes won't warm up though." Ellie joked, as Thranduil turned back around to face her again with his face the picture of concern.

"Get in the bed."

"No, no! Don't worry about that, this cushion is more than comfortable especially next to the fire, honestly!" Ellie reassured him, shifting to the side as if she was about to lie down to prove her point. 

But Thranduil wasn't having it. His already stern expression hardened, irritation flashing in his pale eyes.

"You are potentially going to have to do battle tomorrow, and you think I am going to let you sleep on the floor?"

Ellie shrugged uncomfortably, looking up to meet his steel gaze.

"I will sleep on the floor, you shall take the bed." The King explained, as he pulled some cushions from a different trunk.

"No! You are definitely going to have to fight tomorrow, you take the bed!"

Thranduil stared down at Ellie, his frosty eyes narrowed defiantly.

"Alright...we will share it. We will share the bed."

Ellie gulped, turning away to stare intently into the dancing amber flames. 

"Come on. I assure you, I will be on my best behavior."

Any reservations that Ellie had about staying in the King's tent instantly evaporated as she slipped between the covers of his vast bed. It felt as if she were sleeping on a cloud, an incredibly warm and fluffy cloud. As she made herself comfortable, she noticed that the frame of the bed was completely solid and wooden...how they hell had they transported this?

The King slipped in beside her, maintaining as respectable a distance as he could and never crossing the invisible, unaddressed line which seemed to separate the sides of the bed to keep them apart and prevent anything...untoward from happening.

"Are you worried?" The King suddenly asked, prompting Ellie to roll over to face him. Surprisingly, she found him lying on his side facing her already.

"What about?"

"Tomorrow...you've never been in a battle, have you?"

Ellie shook her head no, as Thranduil tried his best to mask the dejected sigh which tumbled from his throat. With Ellie having no knowledge of battle or even basic self-defense, it was a surefire recipe for disaster. He would not loose her again.

He refused to.

"I am concerned that you will not know what to do."

Ellie snorted in amusement, startling the monarch who lay beside her.

"Funnily enough, I am too," she hissed, not exactly unpleasantly, but in a firm way which made the King rethink his thought process. It was selfish of him to disregard her entirely, she would be just as afraid as he, if not more.

"But, I have a bow and arrows and a rather pointy sword." She added tightly, with a faint smile which was intended to be reassuring, but came across as more of a pained grimace.

"I am sure this business will be finished quickly, then we can go on to Rivendell."


End file.
